Blue Ridge BBQ Festival

We're a little behind in our posts, but I wanted to share a little about the Blue Ridge BBQ festival held in Tryon, NC. One of my colleagues and her husband compete in BBQ competitions. We went last year in June to this festival, and discovered how awesome it is! It was hot as all get out last year, and even hotter this year. When we arrived at their BBQ area on Saturday (June 14th), the temperature under the tent was 102. I never knew that 95 degrees could be a welcome (cool) relief. Anyway, this festival has a variety of cool stuff--everything from arts and crafts to music, and the best part is the BBQ! Plus it's pretty fun talking to everyone and getting hints on smoking and grilling. Congrats to Mary and Jack! Their team, Common Interest, came in 5th for ribs! Preparing BBQ for the judges

We had a great weekend that weekend. We camped at Davidson River Campground in Brevard, NC (yes, we burned through the gas driving between Brevard and Tryon). What a great campground! It's right on the Davidson River, which was great due to the hot weather. Anyway, we love camping (car camping--with an air mattress).
Before we headed home on Sunday, we went up into the Blue Ridge Parkway for some short hiking. We hiked Sam's Knob, which was a great short hike that gave us some amazing views! We had quite a blast that weekend! The NC mountains are one of our favorite places to visit, and we look forward to the next time we get to go up there! View from Sam's Knob

Us at the North Mills River

We also want to congratulate our small group members Darrell and Ashley Brace on their marriage June 22nd! We're so excited for you two!